We’ve been talking here lately about being mindful in the wired world. Well, here’s a twist: in this guest post, Nate DeMontigny, author of the Precious Metal blog, explains the online simulation program, Second Life. Turns out it actually supports his Buddhist practice — helping him to do real-world meditation, and to feel connected as a Buddhist practitioner with no formal group affiliation.

I had heard about the simulation program Second Life a few years ago and figured I’d give it a try. At first I was a bit skeptical, not sure really where to go or how to get there. Plus, it took some time to get used to the controls. Once I did though, it was off Welcome Island and into the Second World.

“Five Mountain Zendo,” online in Second Life

“Welcome Island” is where newbies get their bearing before heading out into the second “real” world. You can ask questions to just about anyone on Welcome Island. (If you encounter people with the last name “Linden,” you may want to pick their brains, because they likely work for the company, Linden Labs, that brought us Second Life.) Next, it’s onto the rest of the virtual world.

I might talk with someone pretty much anywhere in the world during an “SL” session, and as varied as the locations are, the avatars (customizable, electronic representations of actual online people) you meet are just as varied. My avatar, for instance, is an older guy, kind of like a hermit. (That’s him at the top of this post.) There are all sorts of folks, from your “average” avatar to a goth, a raver, a sports fan; you may even meet an animal or superhero from time to time. The places you’ll visit might range from a simple modern home to an extravagant “sim” based on the Elven lifestyle.

One of the first things I did was to search out Buddhist places. I was blown away to find how many there were. There weren’t as many as there are today, but there were meditation groups meeting and discussion groups as well. I began by sitting and chatting with are the “Skeptical Buddhists” — their name says it all. The talk was peer-led and discussion was well maintained. I think there were 20+ people at this particular discussion..

“Tara Ling,” online in Second Life.

For me this was great: I hadn’t met many Buddhists in the real world so it had been hard to discuss things I was curious about. With this “Second Sangha” I was able to engage not only in the discussions but start an actual meditation routine. How does one meditate in a “game,” you ask? It’s actually just a simple as meditation in real life.

Groups of meditators get together, sit on virtual cushions, and a peer who leads the meditation hits a virtual gong (or Tibetan singing bowl, or what have you). The idea is that while your avatar is engaging in this meditation you are supposed to do the same in real life. The gong is struck and meditation begins. Then, after the sitting session has ended, it’s hit again and meditation is over. One place I tried a bit of Second Life meditation in was called Rieul. The members there still hold meditation sessions each and every day. You’ll find a link to them below.

Now, established Buddhist teachers have entered the realm of Second Life to teach the Dharma, such as Jundo Cohen (see part 1 of his talk in SL on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ-vF8Z-_iY or below), Josh Bartok, Grace Schireson, Ken McLeod, and more. For the dharma practitioner, Second Life and Real Life have truly begun to overlap.

But, just like in “RL,” attention needs to be paid to the fact not all people you meet are the real deal, so you should be cautious of those you meet. More words of caution: since Second Life is open to anyone and everyone, there is some questionable content. Just like in real life, there are people who seek to harm others. There are also areas that are X-rated. But don’t let any of this detract you from trying out Second Life. As in real life, there are things to avoid, but many benefits to exploring new territories. The fact is that Second Life can be a tool — I really do use it to spur on my meditation practice.

Being a “lone practitioner” it’s sometimes difficult to keep a constant practice going. I need that extra nudge from time to time. By logging in to Second Life and attending a meditation session or a dharma talk, I get virtual nudge that I can transfer to my real life. That stale feeling I had before is replaced with a commitment to get back on track. I know it’s more “involved” than that to get back into a practice, but with a lack of folks to meet with here in the real world (I live in a fairly isolated place), Second Life is a great fall-back when I need to get back to my real-life practice. And I’ve built relationships with people I’ve come to trust to answer my questions and give good advice.

Before having a small Second Life “place of my own,” I wandered aimlessly, but there are many places to enjoy. Some of my favorites are below. And you’ll surely find some of your own with Second Life’s online search for places — just enter any keyword, and you’ll be more than likely to find what you’re looking for, Buddhist and otherwise. If I can ever help you maneuver around Second Life feel free to add me as a friend. As with searching for places, there is a tab to search people. Just enter my online name, Pyr Selona, and click “add.” (And if you are a teacher and looking to enter Second Life for a talk or two, I know of many places, mine included, that might be right to host you.)

I hope to meet you “in-world!”

Sample URLs (links open in new windows; you’ll be asked to log in/create an account to see them if not logged in):

Comments

Very cool post, Nate! I can appreciate how emerging technologies can help support and engage our practice in ways that are not expected (I would never assume that Twitter would be such a great Dharma outlet). One thing that is expected though is that when people engage and communicate with each other in an honest and respectful manner we can expect our practice to benefit.

The venue of engagement and interaction is meaningless compared to what you bring into it. A "brick and mortar" sangha is worthless when jealousy and contempt predominately rule and a "virtual" one can be a detriment when the participants hide behind masks and aliases.

Again, great post but doubtful you will see me in Second Life anytime soon, brother. I barely have time for one!

If you do decide to download Second Life, try out the new beta version since you are able to cut and paste the surl's that are above right into the browser of Second Life… the beta version is here http://secondlife.com/beta-viewer/

Thank you for this article on Buddhism in Second Life. I think you gave a great thumbnail here to get people curious and I do hope they come and attend some of the sessions. I really enjoy keeping my practice going through the numerous meditation sessions available. Plus the variety of teachers giving Dharma talks is I think of great value even if you attend a real life Buddhist Center.

The Skeptical Buddhists Sangha has talks and open discussion on Fridays (6:30pm Pacific) and Sundays (1:30pm Pacific) at the link Pyr posted above. This week it's a fairly basic introductory talk but we're also doing a continuing discussion of Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs. Like Nate, I enjoy befriending and helping newcomers (Buddhist or otherwise) find their way around Second Life, so feel free to find me (Starsitter) using Search / People and send me a friend request so you'll know when I'm online. Hope to meet you there!

Starsitter and the folks at SB are the one's that graciously allowed me to build my home/ tibetan retreat on their land. You all should definitely seek out Starsitter as she has a vast wealth of SL knowledge.

As a teacher of Nyingma buddhism i find SL quite a valuable teaching support. As of yet I've lectured there, led White Tara practice there (at Tara Ling and at my own land, Gar Drolma Choling) and had many private interviews with many people. It's invaluable I think to people who don't have ready access to dharma centers or teachers.

Energy-in: Illness, a lessoned ability to get out and about, led me to SL on the advice of a good friend who was probably afraid I would turn into a houseplant. It didn't take long to find Tara Ling and the other Dharma centers and enjoy the fabulous benefits of sangha. Energy-out: Now, I'm in there every day, leading meditations for 3 Dharma centers and also, for Project Hope. The personal benefits to this sort of sharing can't be over-stated, but to know one is being of assistance to others this way, even while stuck at home and not physically well….what a glorious feeling. Why wouldn't the Dharma manifest online this way? lol Why not? 🙂 Come visit and enjoy the feeling.

I have been trying to create an account at Second Life, but it is extremely cumbersome. I filled out the info, got the e-mail confirmtation, clicked on the link, and got half a dozen options, none of which seemed relevant to my confirming the log-in. I'm both sad and frustrated. Not meant to be, I guess.

For 8 months we are in FL and the only Sangha nearby is a New Kadampa Tradition, which is fine, but not me – so that's out. The other 4 Months we isolated at our place in the woods of KY, miles from nowhere. 12 months out of the year I'm a full-time caregiver for a non-Buddhist disabled spouse who I cannot leave alone for more than a few hours. The online Sanghas in SL while somewhat virtual, are a very real blessing that I am extremely grateful for.

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